Settling into its site behind native coastal live oaks, this new home recalls Carmel’s mid-century modern heritage with the rational floor plan and flat roof plane, while the materiality of the board and batten wood siding links the home in a visceral way to the similarly clad, ubiquitous, single-wall wood cottages of the area. The contrast between the home’s traditional materiality and its formal modernity is intended to create a complementary and harmonious dialogue between past and present. The house carefully nestles itself within the existing trees, using them as a dramatic, natural foreground to the more subtle architecture. Set on a small, irregular lot with restrictive height limits, the house is organized using a reverse floor plan. The guest bedrooms, media room and garage are partially lowered below grade, while the upper level has an open layout of Kitchen, Living, and Dining spaces that look out to an expansive deck with filtered views through to Carmel Bay. The primary bedroom is located towards the street to the East but uses West-facing operable clerestory windows to bring in the sounds of the surf.

Interiors: Studio Nostromo

Builder: Northstar Construction

Photos: Adam Rouse Photography